TO: Napa County Climate Action Committee
FROM: Brian Bordona, Director, Planning, Building, & Environmental Services
REPORT BY: Ryan Melendez, Planner II - Sustainability
SUBJECT: Climate Action Committee (CAC) Orientation: Roles and Responsibilities and Introduction to Priorities and Budget Process for Fiscal Year 2025 - 2026 (FY25/26)
RECOMMENDATION
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DISCUSSION AND DIRECTION: CLIMATE ACTION COMMITTEE (CAC) ORIENTATION: ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES, INTRODUCTION TO FISCAL YEAR 2025/2026 PRIORITIES AND BUDGET
Staff requests that the CAC receive a presentation from staff about the history of the CAC, discuss the roles and responsibilities of being a CAC member, and provide direction to staff on priorities for FY 25/26, and discuss the budget process for FY25/26.
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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The proposed action is not a project as defined by 14 California Code of Regulations 15378 (State CEQA Guidelines) and therefore CEQA is not applicable.
BACKGROUND
HISTORY OF THE CAC
The Napa County Climate Action Committee (CAC) was formed in 2020 after the six jurisdictions in Napa County took action regarding a countywide commitment to address climate change. The CAC consists of two elected officials serving as members and one elected official serving as an alternate member (in case of absence) from each of the six jurisdictions. The CAC is administered and staffed by the Napa County Department of Planning, Building, & Environmental Services (PBES).
The CAC has historically served as a forum for sharing information and coordinating on region-wide efforts to address climate change and adapt to its effects. For example, the CAC has discussed the need for increasing the amount of electric vehicle charging infrastructure and has hosted presenters from outside agencies including the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, the Bay Area Regional Energy Network (BayREN), and others. These presentations have helped to inform CAC members and the public about regional, state, and federal efforts, programs, and grants for climate action, transportation and building electrification, solid waste management, and other sustainability sectors.
The CAC members historically discussed short-term actions that could be taken by each jurisdiction towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions, adapting communities to the effects of climate change, and improving sustainable practices; however, there has never been an official mechanism for enforcing or ensuring coordinated action on such measures.
In 2021 and 2022, each jurisdiction in Napa County adopted resolutions or proclamations declaring the acknowledgement of a climate emergency and recognizing the need for direct, swift action to reduce climate impacts and prepare for the effects of climate change. This led to the goal of developing a multi-jurisdictional Regional Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (RCAAP). To begin this process, a Regional Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory, a supplementary Short-Lived Climate Pollutants Inventory and Carbon Stock and Sequestration Analysis were completed in 2022 (for emission estimates for the calendar year 2019). After the completion of the GHG inventory and supplementary documents, in 2024, staff began working with Ascent Environmental, Inc. to develop a RCAAP. The RCAAP was established as one of the three priorities for the CAC in Fiscal Year 2024/2025. The other two priorities identified were (1) developing and adopting Building Energy Reach Codes and (2) making progress on planning and implementation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF COUNTY STAFF AND CAC APPOINTEES
As previously mentioned, the CAC has historically served as a forum for information sharing and coordination for climate action and sustainability efforts. As the Regional Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (RCAAP) is adopted by each of the member jurisdictions and they begin implementing the RCAAP measures, actions, programs, outreach, etc., the roles and responsibilities of the CAC-appointed members, their jurisdictional staff and the County will need to evolve. To prepare the CAC for their expanded level of responsibility in adopting and implementing the RCAAP (among other activities) staff have prepared a list of Roles and Responsibilities for all parties.
Roles and responsibilities of County staff:
• Napa County PBES - Napa County is the lead agency providing administrative support and staffing supporting the CAC.
• Develop and present a Draft Budget request to CAC members annually at the January or February meeting for work planned in the upcoming fiscal year.
• Receive feedback on the draft budget and prepare a Final Budget for CAC adoption at their March meeting.
• Invoice CAC members regularly and report all receipts and disbursements upon a Party’s request.
• Develop scopes of work for CAC activities performed on a countywide level.
• Develop and manage contracts for activities performed at the countywide level by outside contractors and consultants. Oversee contractors; facilitate review of deliverables by consultants; approve final deliverables; and review and approve invoices.
• Facilitate CAC meetings (work groups, sub-committees), prepare agendas and minutes, and staff and broadcast meetings.
• Disseminate information (e.g., training and/or workshop announcements), schedule presenters, and develop materials (e.g., brochures and/or electronic media) countywide to the CAC members and public.
• Provide support to CAC appointees in making presentations to city and town councils, as requested.
• Coordinate with other city, county, regional, and state agencies to stay informed of changes in State climate action policies and regulations, and/or recent court decisions, and provide regular updates to the CAC.
• Facilitate the development and implementation of the RCAAP that will include common regional climate action measures, strategies, and goals.
• Organize a new, staff-level RCAAP implementation working group consisting of staff from all member jurisdictions and facilitate meetings of the working group.
Roles and Responsibilities of Appointees to the Climate Action Committee:
• Facilitate internal municipal approval of the annual budget request (and potential budget amendments) and be prepared to vote on a Final Budget item at the March CAC meeting.
• Provide and facilitate timely review and approval of County invoices for work relating to CAC activities.
• Facilitate designation and assignment of at least one staff person from each Member Agency/Jurisdiction to participate in a staff level quarterly (or more frequent, as needed) working group to support the implementation of the RCAAP and other CAC activities.
• Disseminate information received at the CAC internally to respective jurisdictions and to jurisdictional leadership, department heads, and department staff.
• Disseminate information received at the CAC externally to residents of their respective municipalities via existing channels such as city newsletters, staff reports at city/town council meetings, and/or events (e.g. Earth Day, Harvest Festival, Yountville Days).
PRIORITIES
In order to prepare budget estimates for FY 25-26, staff has prepared the following list of priorities for the upcoming fiscal year and requests that the CAC provide input and direction.
1) Develop a tool to assist with EV charging infrastructure site selection and prioritization. This will allow municipalities to seize funding opportunities to increase EV charging infrastructure. This work is already underway via contract with Ari Raphael Ball-Burack, a UC Berkeley PhD candidate and is proposed to continue in FY 25/26 in order to update the tool and provide trainings to jurisdictional staff. Ari will do a demonstration of the tool for CAC members during the February CAC meeting.
2) New Building Reach Code (all-electric for new residential construction)
Work with stakeholders, the CAC and jurisdictional staff to develop a uniform reach code that can be adopted by each jurisdiction. A reach code was adopted by the County in July 2024 and the City of St. Helena presented it to their City Council in December 2024. This item would be to continue to develop an updated reach code, as necessary, to follow any further updates of the California Building Code.
3) Regional Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (RCAAP) - The RCAAP is currently in development by Ascent Environmental. The $600K cost is included in the current fiscal year budget and was offset by a $500k State budget allocation secured by (former) State Senator Dodd. Ascent staff drafted several technical documents - including a GHG Forecasts Memo, a regional Climate Vulnerability Assessment, a GHG Mitigation Measures Memo, Climate Adaptations Memo, a GHG Measures Quantification Memo. Public engagement has included tabling at events throughout the Napa region, an online community survey to gather input, a community meeting at the Yountville Community Center, six (6) focus group discussions with targeted audiences, and a public project website to accept public comments on the technical documents and serve as a hub of information on the project. Ascent is currently working on completing the cost and funding analysis for the quantifiable GHG and adaptation measures as well as completing the first draft of the administrative RCAAP document. It is anticipated that the final draft RCAAP will be completed in late Q2 or early Q3 of calendar year 2025 for consideration by the member jurisdictions.
RCAAP related work in FY 25/26 will include: 1. Adoption of the RCAAP by the County and other jurisdictions and 2. Preparation of a substantive CEQA EIR document for the RCAAP, and 3. Development of a framework for implementation of the RCAAP.
Because both Electric Vehicle charging infrastructure and building energy reach codes are encompassed in the measures within the RCAAP, as well as many other short- and long-term actions that could serve as priorities for the CAC, staff recommends the CAC establish only one priority for FY 25/26: complete, adopt, and begin implementation of the RCAAP. This priority will require increased and improved participation of staff from the member jurisdictions to implement the actions within the RCAAP. While the County is the administering agency of the CAC, the County cannot implement all RCAAP actions on behalf of the other jurisdictions. The County can take the lead on many actions, but it will require coordination and independent action by staff and the elected bodies at each of the jurisdictions to ensure that the Napa region realizes its climate action and adaptation goals.
Staff is awaiting a cost estimate and approach memo from Ascent for the development of a CEQA EIR for the RCAAP which would expedite the CEQA review process of planning, building, and other projects that demonstrate consistency with the RCAAP and General Plans. After receiving this memo and cost estimate, and direction from CAC members on priorities for FY 25/26, staff will prepare a draft budget to present to the CAC at the February 2025 meeting.